


Damn Witches

by Cielestine_de_Winter



Category: Teen Wolf (TV), teen wolf - Fandom
Genre: AU, Everyone lives, First Times, Jackson & Stiles Friendship, M/M, Magical Stiles Stilinski, Pack ships it, Witches, derek is an author
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-03
Updated: 2020-05-03
Packaged: 2021-03-01 16:34:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,682
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23980144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cielestine_de_Winter/pseuds/Cielestine_de_Winter
Summary: Derek decides to martyr himself to protect Stiles.  Or the Pack.  He definitely is only doing this for the pack.
Relationships: Derek Hale/ Stiles Stilinski
Comments: 6
Kudos: 279





	Damn Witches

Blood ran from the corner of Derek’s lips. The painful wounds were quickly over powering his healing factor but his desperate need urged him on. He closed his eyes as he leaped for the coven mistress. He had to take her down. He was sure that if he could just stop her then the others would leave. He just had to… 

The tall blonde smiled and stabbed him in the side with a long thin knife. Derek yelped as the fire of wolfsbane burned through his blood. Derek fell hard, but quickly rolled to his paws and jumped again. His jaws snapped only inches away from the woman’s throat before Derek was jerked back and tossed like an old toy across the clearing. The pain exploded across his back and only his iron determination made it possible for him to regain his footing. 

“Poor Derek Hale, a lowly beta abandoned by his pack,” the woman laughed. “So desperate to keep your family’s land that you’ll sacrifice your life.” 

Derek ignored her words. She had no idea and he didn’t have the time or energy to listen to her insane ramblings. He backed away slowly thinking over his strategy. He had to stop her. His death might buy a little time for the pack to get away, but Stiles wouldn’t truly be safe unless Derek ended her. 

“I think I will let you live as my lap dog,” she sneered as she took a step closer to him. 

The witch to her left screamed in agony and sunk to her knees retching. One by one the eleven other witches quickly fell to their knees. The coven mistress and Derek looked at each other, clearly unsure what was going on. Derek’s nose caught a familiar scent and he froze. 

“Yea, Sourwolf would make a terrible lap dog.” Stiles said stepping through the tree line. His face was pale but determined. His eyes never flickered from the witch’s stare. “Tell you what? Why don’t you help your friends out of the Preserve and Beacon Hills and never come back?” 

Derek’s eyes burned and his stomach twisted. Stiles couldn’t be there. He had to be miles away, safe… 

“You think you have the power to stop me?” The witch said with a cold smile. 

“I know I have the power to stop you,” Stiles said with a smirk. 

Suddenly the McCall pack stepped forward growling. Scott was closest to Stiles, with Boyd to his left. Erica, then Isaac, then Jackson stepped out and glared at the witch. 

“Come to pay your last respects?” The witch teased. 

“It doesn’t have to be like this,” Scott said urgently, his voice rough from his beta form. “Stop what you’re doing and agree to leave Beacon Hills peacefully.” 

The witch’s eyes narrowed. “You’re just a little boy in a very big world.” She lifted her hand and threw down a handful of wolfsbane that made the wolves recoil. 

Stiles stepped forward, hefting his bat. “Bitch, please.” He said calling the wolfsbane to him. It fell harmlessly in a small pile in front of him. Derek felt a tingle from his wounds and knew Stiles had kickstarted his healing as well. 

The witch narrowed her eyes. “So you can manipulate wolfsbane,” she sneered. “It seems your charlatan druid has taught you something.” 

Stiles cocked his head. “Charlatan Druid? Really? Isn’t that an oxymoron? I mean, if you are a charlatan, then you couldn’t be a druid. And you can’t be a druid if you are a charlatan. That would kind of negate the druid part. And that doesn’t make sense at all. 

“But, I’m going to take it as a complement that you think any problems I have learning this stuff is on his part. I’ve been starting to think I’m just a terrible student. I mean the look he gets on his face when I screw something up is soul destroying. And I don’t even have daddy issues. Mommy issues. Definitely. Body image issues, without a question, because have you seen my pack? The last time that many beautiful people got together was the Oscars. Can you imagine living with this amount of hotness? Because, let me tell you, that beauty runs deep. Even Jackson, who I would have sworn was a douche canoe turned out to be a prince. And believe me, no one was more surprised than I was with that development.” Stiles turned to Jackson. “Sorry, bro, just keeping it real.” 

Jackson, in his beta form, growled at him and disappeared into the forest. Stiles turned back to the witch who had the look of stunned confusion. Stiles figured he lost her right around Daddy issues. 

“Anyways, what you need to know is I pretty much love my pack. And I’d appreciate it if you and your coven got the hell out of here and left us alone.” 

“And what do you think you’re going to do, child?” 

“To be brief, I’m going to stop you. If you want the longer answer, it may take a while. But, if you have the time…” 

“I’ve got enough power to squash you and your pathetic pack,” the witch blustered. 

“You sure?” Stiles taunted. 

“Your magic is no match for me,” the woman sneered as she pulled out a vial from her sleeve. She spilled an bright orange liquid on the ground in front of her. The spot glowed like running lava and grew larger within seconds. The witch stepped back when the lava creature grew as tall as her. It shimmered in the hot waves that radiated from it until it solidified into a very large burning dog with flaming eyes. 

A very, very large dog. 

Derek’s stomach dropped. He knew it would take more than him and the pack to take down that. 

“Kill them,” the witch ordered. 

The creature growled, turning to Stiles. Derek readied to leap in front of him, anticipating the monster’s attack when Stiles walked forward and held out his hands. “Oh! A Hell Hound! Come here, boy! Who’s a good boy! Who’s a good boy!” 

The Hell Hound cocked his head then slowly walked over to Stiles who eagerly cuddled with him. The witch and Derek exchanged another dumbfounded look when Stiles didn’t instantly burst into flames. “You are beautiful! You’ve got to let me take you home and introduce you to my Dad! He would never be able to say no to you after he sees you!” Stiles said burying his face in the fur of a very confused but delighted Hell Hound. Stiles took hold of the iron collar and coaxed out his magic. In a few seconds, the collar snapped in half, freeing the Hell Hound from the witch. 

Stiles sat back holding the broken collar in his hands. “You’re free now. I do not seek to bind you to me, but if you’re free for dinner next week, stop by for dinner. I really would like you to meet my Dad.” 

The Hell Hound considered for a moment before licking Stiles’s face, covering it with warm saliva. When Stiles’s face and most of his front was covered in the Hell Hound’s drool, the Hell Hound sat back and burned out. 

Derek and the witch looked at each other once again, not sure what to make of the situation. Stiles wiped his face on his sleeve with a grimace. “Sorry about that. I love animals. Dogs especially. I’ve been begging my Dad to let me get a dog since I was 5. If Dad sees him I might have a shot at convincing him. Do you think he’ll come to dinner?” Stiles said glancing at Derek. 

Instead of the almost vapid blankness Derek expected in Stiles’s eyes, they were sharp and focused. Derek didn’t need his werewolf sight to see the glow of purple in Stiles’s eyes. Derek suddenly could sense a trace of Stiles’s magic saturating the air around them. Derek’s eyes widened when he realized what Stiles was doing. He had done it once during one of their afternoon training session. He had managed to bind the pack for a better part of an hour. Stiles was giving Derek the opportunity to leave before he sprung the trap, just as he had done to the other wolves. Now he understood the comment to Jackson. Jackson was strange protectiveness of Stiles would have explained his reluctance to leave. 

Derek sighed. He trusted Stiles’s control much more than Stiles did himself. 

“Don’t answer that. I don’t want to get my hopes up. Although my Dad is due for a cheat night pretty soon,” Stiles said easily. “I might be able to get him to voluntarily eat some grilled vegetables if I used the seasoning that came in the Pensey’s Spices box from Lydia. My god! I should use this as an excuse to use the sample package I got with the box. Hell, if it’s as good as Lydia says, he won’t even miss the bacon. This is genius! Maybe I can…” 

“Stop talking!” The witch shouted. “Just! Stop! Talking!” 

“Yea, I guess I should wrap this up.” Stiles brought his hands up and started mouthing the words of a binding spell. The witch looked at him incredulously. The nerve of the youngling actually thinking that he…. She tried to lift her arms, but found invisible bands immobilizing her. She screamed in rage again and sent her power over to Derek, ready to crush him, when her power was quickly siphoned off. 

The witch stared in shock at Stiles. “How are you doing this?!” She demanded. The witch struggled against Stiles’s hold but was quickly losing her strength. “You are just a boy!” The woman hissed. 

Stiles stepped closer to her. “I’m a boy with a pack,” he corrected with a cold smile. The witch blinked as the last of her power was forcefully drained from her. 

Scott reappeared and pressed against Stiles, silently urging him to stop. For a moment Stiles was tempted to ignore his best friend, but he sighed and breathed a short incantation. The witch crumbled to the ground. Stiles stepped forward and knelt down next to her. 

“Look, I’m sorry that you’re all power hungry and crazy. But the Hale lands are protected. Take your friends and go.” 

The witch gasped for air. “What have you done to me?” 

“I’ve taken your power and your ability to manipulate magic.” 

The witch looked at her coven. 

“And when I say your, I mean all of yours,” he said firmly. He stood up and looked at Scott. Scott nodded his head. Stiles closed his eyes and waved his hand. The witches shimmered then disappeared, transported to the edge of town. Stiles’s eyes flickered open to meet Derek’s and then narrowed slightly in anger. 

Derek’s attention was suddenly pulled away by Erica grabbing him around the neck and hugging him tightly. “You are such a failwolf!” She growled, burying her face in his neck. 

Derek held his hands out awkwardly. Boyd hit him on the shoulder and nodded to him seriously. 

“We’re going to your place and you’re buying the pizza,” Jackson scowled as he turned away from studying Stiles’s face. “Lydia and Allison have probably already ordered it.” 

“Come on,” Scott said jerking his head to lead everyone away. 

Derek hesitated, unsure of his standing with the pack he had tried to push away. Isaac walked over, wrapped an arm around Derek’s waist and nuzzled his neck, scenting him. “Come on,” he murmured. 

Derek allowed himself to be pulled along until they got to the cars. He stopped and gently disengaged himself from Erica and Isaac. He looked around and frowned. “Where’s Stiles?” 

The others stopped and looked around. After a minute Scott sighed. “You guys go ahead. I’ll get him.” 

“No,” Derek frowned. “Go to the Loft. He and I will join you later.” 

The werewolves looked at Derek in surprise. The attraction between Stiles and Derek was only slightly less strong than their willful denial. This was the first inclination that Derek had ever given that he was more self aware than a chair when it came to Stiles. 

“If you do this, you have to be sure,” Scott said seriously, his eyes flashing red. 

Derek bared his teeth, refusing to back down in the face of Scott’s alpha command. For a tense moment the pack froze, their hearts still. Then Scott smiled. “Good luck.” 

Derek blinked and watched as the rest of the pack turned to their cars each wearing poorly concealed smirks. Derek closed his eyes and basked in the gentle feeling of acceptance through his pack bond. He searched for the bond to his anchor. 

The bond was weak and faded. For a moment, Derek frowned, certain he had lost whatever chance he might have had with Stiles. But then he realized Stiles was actually suppressing the bond. Derek growled at the thought until he realized Stiles had probably figured out how to do it from Derek himself. Derek waited until the others had pulled away and were out of sight before turning back to the Preserve and gracefully flowing into his full wolf form. He focused on his bond with Stiles and ran into the trees. 

Derek ran for a few minutes, deep into the heart of the Preserve. When his finally caught up with Stiles, the younger man was angrily kicking off his shoes. Derek stopped at the edge of the clearing and stared. The sound of the river isolated them from all other noise. 

“Look, I don’t need you lurking around,” Stiles snapped. “I’m fine.” He lifted his hand and a dozen small glowing orbs drifted up lighting the clearing with a gentle gold light. 

Derek transformed back to his human form and took a few steps closer. “If you’re fine, what are you doing?” He asked. 

Stiles tore off his shirt and threw it on the ground. “I have so much magic rolling around inside of me, I feel like I’m about to supernova,” Stiles unzipped his pants then pulled them down. “So, I’m going to go swimming. Do you mind?” 

Oh yes, Derek certainly did mind. He had caught glimpses of Stiles’s naked body before, but those were just cruel teases. Stiles’s pale skin was dotted with moles and stretched over surprisingly well defined muscles. Derek couldn’t move as Stiles stepped into the water and dove in. Derek held his breath until Stiles surfaced a few yards from the edge of the water. Stiles turned around to glare at Derek. “I told you I don’t need you…” the rest of what Stiles was going to say died on his lips as his eyes swept down Derek’s naked body and widened. 

Derek had been rock hard and aching since Stiles took his shirt off. 

Stiles flayed around, his head dipping underwater. Stiles, who until that moment was a fairly competent swimmer, suddenly tried to take a deep breath while under the water. His buzzing mind panicked and instead of swimming to the surface of the water he tried to take another breath. 

Suddenly there were arms around him, pulling him up and to the shore. Stiles gasped for breath and threw up the water as he was gently placed on the grass. He grasped Derek’s arms as he coughed. Derek leaned over him and rubbed Stiles’s head. He dipped his head and scented Stiles, listening carefully as Stiles’s wheezes became gasps and soft moans. 

“You came back,” Derek whispered into Stiles’s neck. He placed careful kisses on the smooth skin. 

Stiles wrapped his arms around Derek’s head. “You can’t drive us away. No matter how hard you try,” he panted. 

Derek pressed his body against Stiles and sucked a kiss into Stiles’s pulse point. Stiles moaned loudly. “Derek, I can’t... If you don’t want this…” Derek slipped his head down and kissed Stiles, stopping his words. Stiles fisted his hands in Derek’s hair and Derek retaliated by nipping Stiles’s lips with his sharp teeth. Derek grinned as he ran his hands down Stiles’s sides. Stiles bucked up and managed to dislodge Derek. He quickly rolled them over and straddled him. 

“This can’t be a one time thing for me,” Stiles panted. 

Derek gently ran his hands through Stiles’s wet hair and pulled him down. He kissed him, gently at first, but then with increasing hunger. “It’s not. Not for me.” 

Stiles grabbed Derek’s shoulders and pressed his body against Derek’s, moaning into the kiss. “God, I want you.” He said between kisses. “And not just the burning hot Derek Hale bod.” He said rubbing against him. “Everything. Even your stupid self sacrificing stubbornness. You’re fucking perfect.” 

Derek growled and ran his blunt nails down Stiles’s back. He grabbed his ass and held it against him as he thrust their cocks together. “Fuck!” Derek moaned as Stiles kissed his neck. “I learned it from watching you.” 

“Asshole.” Stiles said before sucking on his collarbone. 

Derek reached down with one hand and fingered Stiles’s asshole. “I have plans for this asshole,” he panted. Stiles keened loudly and pushed down against his finger. Derek smiled at how responsive Stiles was. He reached his other hand between them and grabbed both their cocks. 

Stiles moaned as Derek pumped them with perfect pressure. Derek ran his thumb over the sensitive tip as Stiles shivered. “Derek,” Stiles choked out. 

“Christ, Stiles, so good.” He kissed down Stiles’s chest and teased his hard nipple with his teeth. Stiles made a strangled sound as he bucked wildly into Derek’s hand. “So beautiful.” 

Stiles grabbed Derek’s hair and pulled him up for another kiss, his movements almost frantic as he kissed him. “I can’t... I…” 

“Bite me,” Derek begged hoarsely. “Stiles!” Derek’s mind whited out as he felt Stiles teeth on his neck and his cum in his hand. His hand shook as he forced himself to be gentle as he eased them both through their orgasms. 

Stiles slumped against Derek. Derek blinked a few times then eased Stiles over. Stiles looked up at him with a blissed out expression. Derek kissed him chastely and moved between Stiles’s legs. He took hold of Stiles’s ass and leaned down. 

Stiles moaned loudly as Derek’s warm tongue tickled his hole. “Oh god,” Stiles panted brokenly as his fisted the grass beneath his hands. Derek rimmed Stiles delicately, enjoying his pornographic moans. Stiles’s cock quickly hardened as he ground into Derek’s eager mouth, his stubble driving Stiles crazy. 

When Stiles’s hole was dripping and lose, Derek sucked on his finger, then teased the edge of Stiles’s hole. Carefully, Derek pressed his long finger into Stiles. Stiles squirmed, his cock softening slightly. Derek leaned down and took Stiles’s cock in his mouth. Stiles looked down in disbelief at Derek. Derek smiled around Stiles’s cock. “Oh fuck. Derek.” Stiles moaned. 

Derek thrust in another finger, sucking Stiles down. He sat up and took hold of Stiles’s cock with his free hand as Stiles’s rode his other hand. He squeezed Stiles’s cock, preventing Stiles from cumming. Stiles muscles tensed as he was denied his orgasm. 

“I need to fuck you.” 

Stiles’s head spun at Derek’s vulgarity. “Yea, okay,” his gasped. 

Derek smeared their cum on his fingers and thrust three fingers into Stiles, careful to lightly tease Stiles’s prostate. “You’d let me do anything to you right now, wouldn’t you?” Derek’s husky voice was filled with dirty promise. 

“Anything,” Stiles moaned, tears escaping from the corner of his closed eyes. 

Derek spat into his hand and coated his cock with saliva. He leaned down and guided the tip of his hard cock against Stiles’s sloppy hole. “Say you want this,” Derek whispered into Stiles’s ear. 

“Yes. Derek. Fuck.” Stiles grabbed hold of Derek’s broad shoulders. 

“Do you want me to fuck you, Stiles?” Derek whispered, pressing his cock against Stiles’s hole, teasing before backing up slightly. Stiles wailed and ground against Derek. 

“Yes. God.” 

Derek chuckled and thrust once again against Stiles’s hole, just barely breaching him before he shifted away. 

“I used to dream about your lips wrapped around my cock. How good you would look on your knees sucking me down,” Derek breathed into Stiles’s ear. He pressed against Stiles again. “Your lips would look so good wrapped around my cock. I bet your tongue could do wicked things.” Derek scented Stiles’s neck and Stiles’s practically vibrated with lust. “And then I got to know you and I realized I wanted the brain behind that smart ass mouth just as much. So I’m going to fuck you and I want to hear everything your brilliant mind comes up with. Because make no mistake,” Derek said pressing into him. “You are brilliant.” Stiles pressed up just as Derek thrust down. Stiles’s breath caught as he was breached. 

Derek brought his hand down and caressed Stiles’s cheek, drawing his pain away. “Okay?” He asked peering into Stiles’s face. 

Stiles nodded, burying his face in Derek’s neck. He slowly relaxed around Derek. “Fuck,” Derek swore as Stiles clenched then released around him. He twitched in Stiles and Stiles moaned. “You feel like you were made to be mine,” Derek growled. 

Stiles cried out. “Yes. You feel so good.” 

Derek thrust in and out slowly, drinking in Stiles’s gasps and moans. “No one else, Stiles. Promise me.” 

“Derek!” Stiles moaned as Derek thrust in deeper. “Yours,” he promised looking into Derek’s eyes intensely. Tears gathered in his eyes. 

Derek pushed Stiles down and fucked into him hard. He leaned down and licked the sweat off of Stiles’s neck. Stiles panted underneath him. “Please,” Stiles begged. 

Derek felt his teeth grow and his mouth water. He bit Stiles’s neck, tasting his blood. Golden honeyed power flowed into Derek, making his head spin. Derek released Stiles’s neck and found his lips. “Mate,” he growled. 

Stiles screamed as Derek nailed his prostate over and over. He seized up as his his climax hit him, stealing his breath. He squeezed around Derek, milking Derek’s completion. Their minds connected, whiting out everything else. Derek eased Stiles down and kissed him gently. They lay in the clearing for several long minutes as before Derek gently pulled out. 

Stiles looked up at him. “Mate?” he whispered. 

Derek gently caressed Stiles’s back. “Yes,” he said quietly. “If you’d have me.” 

“Of course, Sourwolf,” Stiles pulled Derek in for a kiss. “Although,” he said smiling. “I will miss the whole dating thing. I was looking forward to wooing you.” 

Derek laughed. “Wooing me?” 

“Okay, more like I want to inflict my presence on your person for copious hours,” Stiles said burying his face in Derek’s neck. Derek breathed in Stiles’s scent. “Get to know my Sourwolf.” 

“I can still smell the Hell Hound on you,” Derek grumbled. 

“That has to be one of the most insane things I’ve ever done,” Stiles laughed. “I was terrified.” 

Derek lifted his head. “What?” 

“I didn’t actually know if the Hell Hound was friendly,” Stiles explained casually. “I mean for all I knew I’d burst into flames as soon as I touched him.” 

Derek sat up. “You didn’t know?” He demanded in his patient sounding voice that did nothing to hide his anger. 

“Of course not. Banking on the whole belief is everything Jedi mind trick.” 

“I hate you.” Derek said groaning. 

“You should be used to this by now,” Stiles said rolling his eyes. “Though, to be fair, there was no way we could have predicted she’d pull out a Hell Hound.” 

“You’re going to be the death of me.” 

Stiles cocked his head. “You know, technically you just quoted Star Wars.” 

Derek smiled. “What? Are you the only one who’s allow to quote Star Wars?” 

Stiles sat up. “Oh my god! You did that on purpose! I love you!” 

“I know,” Derek said pulling Stiles into his arms with a smirk. 

Stiles laughed. “Don’t you force me to go General Organa on your ass. ‘I know.’” 

Derek pulled Stiles into his arms. “She was easily the most bad assed of anyone in that universe.” 

“Over Palpatine? That man came back from the dead.” 

“Leia had to deal with Han and Luke. That gives her lots of points.” 

“Oh, like Anakin was that much of a joy to be around. Seriously, one of his generals was an eight six egged grumpy droid and the other got his ass kicked by a muppet.” 

“Yoda could have kicked anyone’s ass.” 

“Why does everyone assume that? What if he was the nerdy Jedi who was always picked last in gym? What if he was really bad at actual fighting and no one wanted to point it out because then they would just be being racist, but they aren’t because he’s a muppet, for gods sake!” 

“And he kicked Dooku’s ass, so your argument is invalid. Yoda can fight.” 

“Dooku’s an old man. Gandolf kicked his ass. Fucking Wormtongue.” Stiles kissed Derek’s jaw lightly. “But I cede this argument. Leia’s pretty bad assed.” 

They were quiet for a few minutes as Stiles continued to plant happy contented kisses on Derek’s jaw and neck. 

“I’m… not ready to share you with the pack,” Derek said softly. “Can I…. Stiles.” He sat up and looked Stiles in the face, his hazel eyes oddly vulnerable. “Can I take you to San Francisco for the weekend? I have a house there. I… go there some times when I need…” Derek stumbled over his words, unable to convey what he wanted to say properly. 

Stiles put his hand on Derek’s face. “I would love to go with you.” 

Derek looked at him hopefully, “We can call your dad on the way. I’m sure I’ll have clothes to fit you.” He stood and helped Stiles up. Stiles quickly pulled on his clothes and grabbed Derek’s hand as they walked back to Derek’s. 

Stiles had a short conversation with his father, who was completely not surprised. Stiles frowned a little at that as he climbed into the Camaro. “Well according to my dad, this had been a long time coming and we are not to elope.” 

Derek was very proud that he was able to smoothly pull out of the Preserve and onto the main road without crashing the car. “For honesty’s sake, I’m going to put out there that while Danny was my big gay freak out Freshmen year, I didn’t seriously consider a relationship until I met you that day in the Preserve. You tossed us the inhaler. I was a goner.” 

“I thought you were in love with Lydia Martin.” 

“Lydia Martin is a goddess I will worship forever,” Stiles shrugged. “She’s a genius.” 

Derek glanced at him. “You know, you’re kind of a genius too.” 

Stiles snorted. “Not hardly. Do you know she taught herself Latin when we were in middle school?” 

“Stiles. How did you know she taught herself Latin in Middle School?” 

“Because I taught myself Latin so I could understand what she was saying.” Stiles grinned. “It was so cool for a while, it was like a secret language only we could speak. Every once in a while now we’ll slip into it if we’re sure Peter’s not around and we don’t want other people to know what we’re saying.” 

“Peter doesn’t know Latin, he just wants you to believe he does. I’ve been the one translating those passages for him. Don’t tell him you know. He thinks he’s being clever.” 

Stiles took hold of Derek’s hand and intertwined their fingers. “I’ll let him know one of these days. How many languages are you fluent in?” 

“Not as many as you and Lydia,” Derek shook his head. “Seven, not including Latin- Russian, Italian, German, French, Japanese, Mandarin, and Turkish. So useless for what we do.” 

“No!! You just opened up a whole new world for me!! My French is shaky at best and I’ve been dying to take a crack at indexing the Argent Bestiary. There’s also that huge book of Japanese folktales that I got from a buddy that I think has more information that the translations say. If you could just help me get started, I’ll pick it up pretty fast.” 

“No, it’s good. I used to translate before. When I was in college,” Derek’s voice was halting, as though he wasn’t sure he should be sharing that information with Stiles. 

Stiles sensed his hesitation but only smiled. “What did you translate?” 

Derek glanced at him, “Mostly biographies. Non fiction. There’s a bigger market for fiction now, but I’ve gotten a little busy with a few side projects.” 

“Do you like non fiction?” 

“I like history. I majored in it in college. I liked how every story had multiple viewpoints and as you got older you learn to look deeper and see those other viewpoints. A biography is a small collection of a bunch of viewpoints on one person. When I was younger I used to be less cynical and take everything at face value. Now I know to look for the commonalities in the stories and the inconsistencies that the writers missed or somehow slipped in. Some of the best ones lead me to other books and mysteries that I find fascinating. Did you know…” 

The rest of the car ride was filled with what felt like the first conversation Derek and Stiles ever had not involving bodily harm in some way. Derek’s eyes flickered over to Stiles’s bruised neck often during their conversation and Stiles could only smile at Derek’s blush. Derek for his part, eased into the knowledge that Stiles had accepted him as his mate. And while that didn’t mean that everything would be rainbows and glow sticks, it did mean that Stiles somehow loved him. Stiles could have anyone, and he chose Derek. 

Derek was going to spend the rest of his life getting over whatever he had to get over so he could be perfect for his precious mate. 

Derek pulled into the coveted garage space and hurried to Stiles side of the car. As soon as Stiles stretched, Derek pulled him into a tight hug and scented him. Stiles laughed and hugged him back. “You are much more touchy feely than Scott ever was.” 

“Scott doesn’t know what he’s missing out on,” Derek said kissing Stiles’s neck. “Come on, I’ll show you the place. 

The place was a beautiful honey wood and glass house filled with comfortable earth toned leather furniture. One look at the roof top deck overlooking the scenic bay and Stiles was flabbergasted. “Why do you live in an industrial loft with holes in the walls when you could be living here?” 

“I bought it a couple of years ago when the market tanked. I’ve gutted it and fixed a lot of it up.” Derek ran his hand over the lighted metal railing. “I have an agreement with the Alpha here. I can come and go as I please, but if I bring trouble, I let her know. Are you hungry? I can make us some pasta.” 

Stiles followed him into an open kitchen that dominated one of the floors. Derek put Stiles to work on the garlic while he dug around for some tomatoes and pasta. “I try to keep the kitchen well stocked just in case. I have a cabin in Aspen that’s the same way. Remind me and I’ll give you the address just in case you ever need it.” 

“Wow, that’s very lifestyles of the rich and famous of you.” 

Derek turned to him and tilted his head, almost as though he was waiting for Stiles to be angry. “We can go anywhere you want, Stiles. Money isn’t a problem. If you wanted to go to Europe and travel for a while and start your own Bestiary, we can. Anything you want.” 

Stiles frowned, picking up on Derek’s odd behavior. “Right now, I want to help you with this pasta. What else can I do?” 

Derek looked relieved and grabbed a pan. He quickly dropped in some butter, garlic, and EVOO. “See if there’s any appealing vegetables in the fridge.” 

Stiles found some zucchini, squash, and spinach that he quickly chopped up and Derek boiled up the pasta. He added it to the pan and watched as Derek casually dropped spices into the pan while keeping an eye on the pasta. He quickly drained the pasta and mixed it all together as Stiles found plates and forks. 

He grabbed two reusable water bottles from the fridge and led Stiles up a floor to a living room with a huge picture window that over looked the city. The light of the false dawn was just turning the morning fog silvery. They sat on the couch together, they’re arms touching as they ate the pasta in silence. When Stiles was finished, he put his bowl on the coffee table and put his head on Derek’s lap. Derek put his bowl down and ran his hand through Stiles’s hair. 

“What do you want?” Stiles whisper softly as the city woke up around them. 

Derek’s pulse raced, worried that this was some kind of test that he couldn’t possibly pass because he just didn’t know all the information on what Stiles wanted him to say. He wanted to be perfect. He wanted to say the right thing. 

Stiles reached out and touched his face. 

“I don’t want you to leave me.” Derek finally admitted. 

Stiles sat up and pulled Derek into a tight hug. Derek closed his eyes and felt the bond between them grow stronger. It was a golden rope that tethered Derek to this feeling of joy that Derek never wanted to lose. He didn’t realize that he was crying until Stiles wiped the tears from his cheeks. 

Stiles smiled at him. “Hey, I say we shower and then engage in some low key cuddling until we fall asleep, okay?” 

Derek nodded, happy that Stiles understood. Derek led him up another floor to a where the bedrooms where. He ushered Stiles into a decadent master bath that almost had Stiles swooning. “You have the sexiest bathroom, I’ve ever been in. I didn’t even know bathrooms could be sexy until I stepped in here.” He stared wide eyed at the large two person soaking tub. Then he turned and watched Derek program the multi headed, could probably fit four shower. “This is like a grown up bathroom.” 

“I am a grown up,” Derek said dryly. 

“You have bean bag chairs,” Stiles disagreed, instantly winning the argument. 

“Come here then,” Derek said holding out his hand. “Let me show you how much of a grown up I can be.” 

Stiles took his hand and allowed Derek to pull him under the warm rainwater shower. “We are remodeling the bathroom as soon as we get home,” Stiles moaned. He almost jumped out of his skin when he felt Derek’s soapy hands massage his skin. His mind drifted into a comfortable aroused haze which led to two mind blowing orgasms for both of them and Derek carrying a blissed out Stiles to bed. After shutting the blackout curtains, Derek curled up to his mate and slept. 

  
  


Stiles woke to the most amazing aroma. He knew his way around a kitchen so when he had thoughts about finding whomever created such amazing smells and marrying them, you know he was serious. It took him 2.3 seconds to get out of bed and follow his nose to the floor with the kitchen to find a stressed out Derek Hale standing over two 3 Michelin Star quality dinners and his garbage can. He looked up guiltily when Stiles all but ran in the room. 

“Hi.” 

“Whatever you’re thinking, just stop!” Stiles said quickly. “I can feel you’re tense and it’s driving me a little crazy. And can we maybe put your freak out on hold because what ever is on those plates smells amazing. If I don’t get even a little taste right now, I may just hate myself forever. We wouldn’t want that, right?” Stiles stepped forward, noticing the dirty pots and broiler and the table set with some really nice hand thrown pottery. He grabbed the plates from Derek’s reach and put them on the table as casually as he could and motioned for Derek to join him. 

Derek stared at him blankly for a few minutes. Right before Stiles was about to take his first bite Derek spoke. “Don’t you want to go out?” 

The proverbial light goes on in Stiles’s head and he took the bite. He didn’t bother restraining the indecent moans that came from his mouth. “This is the most amazing thing I have ever eaten! Did you make this?” He said quickly taking another bite as his mind quickly pulled apart the complex flavors. 

Derek’s ears turned pink as he took a bite of his steak. “It’s a family recipe,” he mumbled looking at his plate. 

Stiles put down his fork and placed his hand on Derek’s arm. “Hey, I know this is way too soon, but do you think this can be what we serve at our bonding dinner?” He asked, guessing Derek’s earlier insecurity lay in the fact that he was afraid Stiles had already grown tired of him and had served his heart up on a plate and fully expect Stiles to reject it. 

Derek’s look of pure heartbreak told Stiles he had guessed correctly. “Depends. Who do you want there?” 

Stiles smiled and picked up his fork. “Just the pack. I don’t want a conventional wedding. A justice of the peace and a full moon bonding ceremony is good enough for me.” 

“There’s a wolf moon in July,” as soon as Derek said the words, he wished he could take them back. It was too soon. He was putting too much pressure. He was wrong. Wrong. Bad. Wrong. 

Stiles smiled brilliantly at him. “It just so happens to fall on a solstice! Derek! You’re a genius! Yes! Let’s do it!” 

Derek’s stomach rumbled like it didn’t know if it should be upset or elated. He settled on terrified. This was a trap. It had to be a trap. Nothing was this easy. He wasn’t a genius. He wasn’t smart. 

Derek’s thoughts came to a halt when he felt Stiles’s hand on his arm again. 

“Derek?” 

“I’m sorry, what?” 

“Where did you go?” Stiles asked evenly. 

“I…” Derek wondered if he should hedge. 

“I felt like I was drowning and I couldn’t breath and everything bad that had ever happen in the universe was my fault and I couldn’t think and…” Stiles gasped for breath and Derek dropped his fork and grabbed Stiles. Stiles locked eyes on him. “What’s going on Derek? What’s making you feel this way?” 

Derek pulled Stiles into his lap and held him. “No,” he whispered softly. He cleared his throat. “No.” 

Derek carried Stiles to the couch on the higher level. He settled him in so that they were curled against each other. It took him a few minutes to speak. “You know about Kate Argent.” It wasn’t a question. 

Stiles nodded, his face calm but not overly emotional as most people’s were when we spoke about her. 

“When I was with her, nothing I did was right. Little things. I usually didn’t notice it, but when I thought back to it, it was pretty obvious that she was conditioning me.” Derek sighed and looked away. “I am waiting for you to do the same thing. When you don’t belittle me, I get confused. I think that you’re trying to trick me or trap me or I don’t know…”. Derek’s voice faded out. 

Stiles snuggled up closer to him when he realized that Derek was shaking. “I don’t know very much about how to break conditioning, but you can bet that I’m going to google-fu the hell out of it.” Stiles said burying his face in Derek’s neck. “But I know that for now I’m going to prescribe an intense treatment of cuddles and communication. When I feel this, I’m going to call you out and tell you exactly how I feel. You may be surprised. 

“For now I’m going to bask in the fact that you chose me and snuggle with you for a little while. And Sourwolf, I don’t really want to leave the house if we don’t have to. At least not until we start driving each other crazy. Which. Let’s be honest, there’s very little I’m rushing to get back to at home. So as long as we keep my Dad informed we’re good.” 

“And no eloping,” Derek mumbled into Stiles neck. 

“And no eloping,” Stiles smiled. “I demand at least one bath. And you have to teach me how to cook what ever it is you made down there. It’s amazing.” 

“It reheats better.” 

“I see no downsides to this.” He was quiet for a few minutes. “You know, I have more of a hands on learning style. And I’ve been making connections throughout Europe of places that might um host us.. me.. of a few months. Just as we learn customs and document folklores. I can get some hands on magic training and work on my bestiary. You said we could travel. Were you serious?” 

Derek sat up and looked at Stiles as though he was the most precious thing in the world. “Yes,” he said with a gentle smile. “What do you think I do for a living?” 

Stiles frowned. “Um, be broody and complex?” 

Derek flashed him a wry smile. “I’m an author. What you’re suggesting couldn’t be more perfect.” 

“You’re an author?” 

Derek blushed a looked away. Maybe he shouldn’t have mentioned that. He wasn’t the most subtle of writers. His feelings often bleed into his characters. 

Stiles put a hand on his neck. “Hey,” he tilted Derek’s head up. “What did you write?” 

“I write the Alex Dressler books,” Derek answered softly. 

Stiles blinked slowly processing. For better or worse, Derek waited for the explosion. His books were world wide best sellers. There were hit movies made from them. A TV series in the works. The characters defined social media. The popularity of the series was insane. 

Stiles’s heartbeat didn’t beat faster. He didn’t smell anxious or angry. If anything, he smelled relaxed. He took a breath. “Two things. One. Just to be clear. Does that mean you are also the writer of the Cryeric Quintet?” 

Derek was surprised. Not very many people knew of the high fantasy novels he published under a pseudonym. “Yes.” 

Stiles nodded. It hadn’t been to hard to put Derek’s two pseudonyms together. They published under sister companies and one late night after one too many reports on Shakespeare sonnets Stiles fell down a rabbit hole of reddit posts of how the world of Cryeric and Alex’s world were the same complete with reoccurring characters. 

And fuck if that didn’t change the entire mean of both series. It turned two mind blowing series into something that fucked with your head and changed your life. Stiles knew he was going to reread both in the near future. And then have a good cry. Because the feels. Oh god, the feels! 

“And number two?” Derek said when Stiles got lost in his own head. 

Stiles focused on him. “Oh. You’re taking me to Comic-Con. No negotiations. And we walk the dealers room on preview night and we’ll eat delicious food while people watching cosplayers taking over San Diego.” 

“What makes you think I can get tickets to that?” 

“I’m pretty sure you could ask for anything and they would get it for you.” Stiles looked at Derek thoughtfully for a minute. 

“I don’t think I trust that look.” 

“I’m just thinking that your movies are produced by Disney, which run D23, which is amazing, but you need to be huge to get into. If you could sneak us into that…” 

Derek laughed. “You are going to take shameful advantage of me, aren’t you?” 

“Yes, I am. Just wait til I ferret out all your secrets. Do you happen to know anyone at Lego?” 

Derek smiled. As long as Stiles focused on that, he wouldn’t be focused on what he had been saying when he had been writing it. God, Derek hoped Stiles hadn’t read his most recent book. 

“Hey, your smile’s getting more frown-like. What’s going on with you?” Stiles asked. 

Derek settled back at Stiles side. “It’s nothing.” 

“I can literally feel your panic. What’s wrong?” When Derek didn’t answer Stiles put his arm around Derek’s shoulders. “If this is about how the two frenenemies in the Alex Dressler books that keep saving each other’s asses are burning hot lovers in the Quintet? I didn’t get it until I reread both for like the third time and then it was like my brain exploded. I didn’t even realized I rubbed my forefinger until Jackson sprained it. 

“And this last book? Seriously. If you don’t mind, I have ideas on how to stabilize Dressler’s world and get a little happiness for themselves in the meantime.” Stiles straddled Derek’s lap. 

Derek sat up and squeezed Stiles’s ass. “Yea, they have been stubborn.” 

Stiles leaned forward and kissed Derek’s neck. “How are you real?” Stiles asked softly. 

Derek’s smile grew sad. “I am, flaws and all.” 

“Hey,” Stiles said smiling up at him. “Let’s make a deal. You work on your flaws and I’ll work on mine. Again. I see no downsides to this, I work on becoming a better person while living with my amazing mate. The pack will probably canonize you for making me more bearable to be around.” 

“You’re always bearable to be around,” Derek argued. 

Stiles raised his eyebrows. “I remember many conversations involving you shoving me into hard objects. Walls, steering wheels, need I go on?” 

Derek looked a little chagrined. 

“Don’t answer that Sourwolf,” Stiles said leaning down and kissing him. “Instead, let’s eat that mouthwatering food, clean up the kitchen and spend the rest of the day getting to know each other biblically.” He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. 

Derek laughed. 


End file.
